But after publicity of the incidents spread through media reports this weekend, Martinez officially resigned Sunday afternoon following the Marlins' win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. John Pierson will take over as the team's hitting coach on an interim basis.

Martinez apologized for his behavior, saying he got in trouble for comments to players he intended as constructive criticism. He conceded he became frustrated in his role with the Marlins, who have ranked last in the majors in batting and runs for most of the season.

"I want to apologize to the Marlins organization for my behavior," Martinez said. "I have made some comments to certain players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism. Obviously, they didn't feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me."

Martinez said he once touched a player in anger, grabbing rookie Derek Dietrich by the jersey in the batting cage early this season. Dietrich, recently demoted to Class AAA New Orleans, was among the players to complain about Martinez.

Dietrich is not the only player who felt Martinez's wrath, the Herald reported. Sources say the former MLB first baseman had been verbally abusive to a number of players dating back to spring training in February. This was his first year as hitting coach for the Marlins.

“It’s all shocked everybody,” a player told the newspaper before Martinez's resignation. “He uses intimidation. It’s been a problem since day one.”

Among those who've been victims of Martinez's profanity-laced tirades, the paper reports are OF Justin Ruggiano, IF Chris Valaika, minor-league IF Matt Downs and others.

Martinez, Loria's choice for the job, was hired in November to be a part of new manager Mike Redmond's staff.

A first baseman in the majors for 16 years, Martinez had been a New York Yankees special assistant and worked an analyst for the YES Network. Martinez had a career average of .271 with 339 home runs for the Yankees, Mariners, Cardinals and Rays.

"I think we're all disappointed in the outcome," first-year manager Mike Redmond said. "''Coaching's tough. Going from a player to a coach is hard, and part of the grind is learning how to deal with different situations with different players and different personalities. All that stuff is a challenge. Some people can do it, and some people can't."